Para Jumping Show by Top Serving, Retired Army Officers A Huge Draw

PUNE: Deputy chief of army staff (planning and systems) Lt Gen Sudarshan Hasabnis, along with other serving and retired army officers, including two septuagenarians, participated in an exhilarating para jumping and sky diving exercise at Dighi Hills on Thursday as part of the bicentenary year celebration of the Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) and Centre, also known as the Bombay Sappers.
The event paid tribute to the soldiers who have died in wars and army operations.

“Only the Bombay Sappers have an independent para field company and most of these retired and serving officers have served with this unit. Today’s demonstration showcased their mettle and professionalism. They displayed their prowess in adventure activities by jumping from a height. Some are above the age of 60,” a senior BEG officer said.
Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri, General Officer Commanding of the 21 Corps, Brigadier M J Kumar, Commandant of the BEG and 37 others accompanied Hasabnis as they jumped from an AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force flying at a height ranging from 1,200ft to 6,000ft. The event culminated with a sky diving display by veterans Lieutenant General R R Goswami (Retd) and Brigadier S R Mazagaonkar (Retd).
“I served in the para field company from 1980 to 1983 and successfully did 100 para jumps. Post-retirement, I took lessons in sky diving in Dubai and resumed jumping in 2017. It was my 118th jump today and I feel proud about doing it before my unit,” Mazagaonkar, 70, said.
Goswami, 71, a former Engineer-in-Chief of the Corps of Engineers, said, “I have been doing sky diving from 1977. Today’s was my 202th jump. Performing before my unit was a proud moment.”
Brigadier Kumar said, “It was an apt way to pay respect to those brave soldiers, who made the supreme sacrifice on the battlefields from the European theatre to Jammu & Kashmir during pre- and post-independence period over the 200 years.”
CME Commandant Spots Big Role For Army Engineers
College of Military Engineering (CME) Commandant Lt Gen Michael Mathews, who is also the colonel commandant of the BEG, told reporters that the Corps of Engineers will play ensure mobility of forces in future wars.
“The engineers have important roles in offensive and defensive operations, including laying mines and clearing minefields. Since Artificial Intelligence and robotics will define future warfare, they are a part of our syllabus for officers and the sappers at the CME,” he said.

Source: ToI

Image Courtesy: ADGPI Indian Army Twitter